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Running Head: Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Action Research Proposal:

Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Abby Sullivan
Bachelor of Education, Crandall University
ED3323: Instructional Learning Processes: Secondary
Dr. Wendy Bokhorst- Heng
April 5th, 2020
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Research Focus 3
Specific Aims/Plan of Action 3
Research Question 4
Background for the Study/ Review of Related Literature 5
Annotated Bibliography 5
Summary 13
Description of the Research Context 15
School Description 15
Classroom Description 15
Methods for Data Collection and Analysis 16
Obtaining Research Data & Analysis 16
Classroom Data Collection 17
Timetable 18
Importance and Potential Significance of the Study: Who Will Care? 20
Reflection 21
References 22
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Introduction

Research Focus:
The area of focus for my action research is how implementing a mindfulness exercise
into the student’s daily routine will support their social and emotional learning (SEL). It is
without a doubt that 2020 was a rough year on us all, in particular, in regard to our mental health
and that is no exception when it comes to our young students. Due to the school closures and all
of the new rules and procedures in place because of Covid-19, students are suffering both
mentally and physically, which is contributing to their academic performance. It has been
reported that 70% of Canadians worry about the impact the pandemic will have on school aged
students and the long-term effects, in relation to their mental health and social and emotional
well-being (Hristova, 2020). Gretna Green School target (English reading, FSL Reading Early
FI, Mathematics and Science) rate for 2025 is 90% of all students will achieve appropriate or
higher levels in the specified subject area assessments. However, I believe the pandemic may
have thrown a wrench in attaining these goals, until students social and emotional needs are
made a priority. In relation to these statistics, one of Gretna Green’s target goals from their 2020-
2021 School Improvement Plan (SIP) is: “we will ensure we provide optimal conditions to
promote a healthy learning environment that addresses both the physical and mental health needs
of all our learners in K-8,” as well as one of their areas of focus, “we will continue to focus on
building social-emotional learning (SEL) opportunities for our students.”
I am passionate about the well-being of the student as an individual as I believe students
need to be healthy, both mentally and physically, to perform their best in school which
contributes to their academic success and their social and emotional learning. I believe this
research is of importance because students need to know that they matter and that they are valued
and cared for by their teachers. Incorporating mindfulness exercises into their daily school day,
will reassure students that school is much more than just academics and that their voice matters
and will be heard. This study will also highlight to students the importance of taking care of
themselves which will benefit them greatly in the future.

Specific Aims/Plan of Action:

The goal for this study is to evaluate if the incorporation of a daily, mindfulness exercise
will support students with their physical and mental health and therefore, their social and
emotional learning. This goal is important as it benefits all students, not only with their academic
success, but their personal, mental and physical health, which is essential in their development
and learning potential.
I will observe and assess students in my class during the run of a day using a variety of
differentiated methods to identify how they are feeling and in correlation, performing in their
classes. I will use students’ prior grades, as well as their typical attitudes, emotions and actions
as benchmarks. I will survey the students in an interview style setting, through a wellness survey
to gain knowledge about their perceptions, attitudes and behaviours in relation to their well-
being. Then once receiving the data, I will implement a six-week mindfulness incorporation into
the student’s daily routines. Monday, Wednesday and Friday students will be required to go for a
walk on the schools walking trail for half hour. Tuesday and Thursday, students will participate
each morning in a sharing circle. The days are subject to change due to weather. Throughout this
process, I will monitor students’ progress through how they present themselves in class (actions,
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
attitudes, behaviours, emotions), as well as their work in the classroom. At the end of the
specified time, I will give the students another wellness survey, interview style and compare
those results with the previous survey.

Research Question:
Will the implementation of daily mindfulness exercises improve students social and
emotional learning, in accordance with their mental and physical health?
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Background of Study/Literature Review

The topic of social and emotional learning and student mental health is important to me
because I believe that students are only able to learn to their maximum ability when their internal
needs are being met. In recent years, this topic has begun to pick up momentum as teachers strive
to reach out to students and show them, they deeply care by asking how they are doing and
getting to know them on a personal level. Teachers are placing the overall well-being of the
student on a high priority list, as opposed to simply just the student’s academics. This past year,
2020, was no doubt one of the hardest years in regard to student’s mental health. Students were
forced to isolate in all of the uncertainty and not have regular contact with their peers, while
learning online through all of the obstacles. For some students, this was a nightmare as they were
stripped of their safe place and normal routines, including access to regular, nutritious meals,
interaction and play time with their friends, outdoor time to get fresh air and exercise and above
all else a sense of belonging and knowing that they matter, and someone genuinely cares about
them.
Gretna Green School recognized the difficulties that students were going through due to
the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19 and realized that they need to do something about it in order
to support their student’s well-being. In their 2020 SIP, they highlighted that they will promote a
healthy learning environment that makes relationships and connectedness among staff and
students a priority, through meeting the needs of all students physical and mental health
necessities. This included strategies and actions for teachers to use to address the social and
emotional learning, in accordance with student’s mental health in the classroom, as well as the
school as a whole.
With all of this in mind, I have reviewed research on different studies of the
implementation of various mindfulness exercises/programs into the classroom, to promote
students social and emotional learning and have found that there is support for my research
question, providing implementation of daily mindfulness exercises will improve students social
and emotional learning. The following charts are annotated bibliographies that sum up three
pieces of literature that was used to reinforce this action research.

Annotated Bibliography
Article 1: Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple to administer
mindfulness- based school program for elementary school children: a randomized controlled trial
Elements
1. APA formatted citation Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott,
D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F., & Diamond, A.
(2015). Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional
development through a simple-to-administer
mindfulness-based school program for elementary
school children: a randomized controlled
trial. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 52–66.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038454
2. Describe type of article Academic Research
3. Useful references included Social and emotional learning in schools: From programs to
strategies. Society for Research on Child
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
4. Definition of key terms
5. Summarize the text’s thesis
and essential points
6. Research question(s),
problem(s), or issue(s)
addressed
Development Social Policy Report, 26 (4). Retrieved
from http://eric.ed.gov/?idED540203
1) Social and emotional learning (SEL): was defined
as the process in which individuals acquire and
effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills
necessary to understand and manage emotions, set
and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy
for one another, establish and maintain positive
relationships and make responsible decisions
(Schonert-Reichl et al., 2015).
2) Well-being: the overall state of someone being
comfortable, healthy and happy (Schonert-Reichl et
al., 2015).
3) Mindfulness: The authors in the article define
mindfulness as the “ability to focus on thoughts,
feelings, or perceptions that arise moment to moment
in a cognitively nonelaborative, and emotionally
nonreactive.” (Schonert-Reichl et al., pg. 53).
4) Prosociality: refers to the behaviours that are
intended to benefit others (Schonert-Reichl et al.,
2015).
5) Executive Functions (EFs): “cognitive control
abilities depending on the prefrontal cortex that
organize, sequence, and regulate behaviour”
(Schonert-Reichl et al., pg. 53).
Thesis: The purpose of this article was to prove that
incorporating a social and emotional learning (SEL)
program involving mindfulness enhances cognitive control,
reduces stress, promotes well-being and prosociality and
produce positive school outcomes, amongst elementary
school aged students.
Essential Points:
1) Students success in school correlates to their overall
mental health (SEL) and their well-being.
2) Mindfulness programs or exercises promote
resiliency in students. As well as self-awareness,
self-management, social awareness, relationship
skills and responsible decision making.
3) The development of EFs and self-regulation during
childhood can be done through practicing
mindfulness.
1) Will the implementation of a mindfulness program
assist the students social and emotional learning?
2) If another program, besides MindUP was
implemented into the classrooms would the results
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
7. Who are the participants,
audience, and/or subjects?
8. What forms of data (or
information) help the
author(s) answer their
questions?
9. What themes emerge about
the original questions,
problems, or issues?
10. What is important and/or
interesting in general about
have remained the same?
- Public school district serving students in a suburban,
predominantly middle-class community near a large
western Canadian city (British Columbia). The four
schools are equivalent on school size, achievement
level, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnic and
racial diversity.
- Two classrooms received the MindUP curriculum
and two received the district program that focused on
the promotion of social responsibility (BAU
condition).
Students: four classes of 4th and 5th graders: 99 students in
total (approximately half from grade 4, half from grade 5),
aged 9-11 years old.
-84% of the participants reported living in two-parent
homes, 9% reported living with their mother only and the
remainder reported living in dual-custody arrangements
(half time spent with mother, half time spent with father).
- 66% of the participants reported that English was their
native language, 25% reported their native language was
East Asian (Chinese, Korean), and the remaining 10%
indicated a range of other languages (Spanish, Russian,
Polish).
-Parental and student consent was given before participating
in the trial.
Teachers: four participating teachers, all European-
Canadian (all had over five years of teaching experience).
Assessment of: executive functions (flanker task & hearts
and flowers task), stress physiology (via salivary cortisol),
well- being (self- reports), prosociality and peer acceptance
(peer reports) and math grades.
-Pre & post-tests.
- The students were told that they were participating in a
study that was focusing on “children’s experiences in
school” and “their attitudes and beliefs about their
classmates and themselves.”
- Self-report and peer behavioural assessments were
administered for one 45-minute regular class period.
Reoccurring themes included:
- Positive correlation between implementation of the
program and the results.
- Mindfulness is important for all ages, particularly
early years to develop the skills.
- Resiliency, and well-being of the students.
The results of the study are extremely important as
educators need to be aware of the positive effects that
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
these results?
11. What connections can be
made to other readings,
classroom observations,
your project, or your future
as a teacher/action
researcher?
Article 2: Effects of an Unstructured Free Play and Mindfulness Intervention on Wellbeing in
Kindergarten Students
Elements
1. APA formatted citation Lee, R. L. T., Lane, S. J., Tang, A. C. Y., Leung, C., Louie,
2. Describe type of article
3. Useful references
included
4. Definition of key terms
implementing a mindfulness program have on students
social and emotional learning. As a future educator, it is
important for me to recognize this and to realize that school
is not all academic and curriculum based, especially if kids
are ‘not all there.’
In connection with my action research project, my research
question is stated as, will the implementation of daily
mindfulness exercises improve students social and
emotional learning, in accordance with their mental and
physical health? This being said, within this study, it was
proven that yes indeed, the implementation of daily
mindfulness exercises improves students social and
emotional learning. “The findings demonstrate that giving
children mindfulness attention training in combination with
opportunities to practice optimism, gratitude, perspective-
taking, and kindness to others can not only improve
cognitive skills but also lead to significant increases in
social and emotional competence and well-being in the real-
world setting of regular elementary classrooms” (Schonert-
Reichl et al., pg. 63).
L. H. T., Browne, G., & Chan, S. W. C. (2020).
Effects of an Unstructured Free Play and
Mindfulness Intervention on Wellbeing in
Kindergarten Students. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(15).
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155382
Academic Research
1) Unstructured play: a type of play in which children
engage in open-ended, engaging activities that have
no specific learning objective (Lee et al., 2020).
2) Loose parts play: sets of objects students can play
with that have no defined purpose (Lee et al., 2020).
3) Mindfulness: The authors define mindfulness as,
“the process and quality of mind that guides us to be
in the moment, to notice things as they take place
and pass no judgement, involving noticing the mind-
wandering and bringing attention back to an
identified point of focus” (Lee et al., pg. 3).
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
4) Physical wellbeing: the lifestyle of an individual,
which includes behaviour choices to ensure health,
avoid preventable diseases and conditions and to live
in a balanced state of body, mind and spirit (Lee et
al., 2020).
5) Emotional wellbeing: the emotional quality an
individual experiences, which is influenced by a
variety of demographic, economic and situational
factors (Lee et al., 2020).
6) Social wellbeing: the ability to make and maintain
meaningful positive relationships and regular contact
with other people (Lee et al., 2020).
5. Summarize the text’s Thesis: The purpose of this article was to determine if
thesis and essential unstructured free play and mindfulness intervention
points positively affected the wellbeing of students, through
various assessment methods.

Essential Points:
- Happiness and aspects of playfulness significantly
increased when students were given time outside to
take part in unstructured play and then a mindfulness
intervention.
- The positive effects may help to maintain mental
health and wellbeing amid stressors such as
transition and separation amongst students.
- The importance of play for students and the positive
effects of play: develop multiple skills, such as social
interaction, communication, peer interaction, how to
function in the world and problem-solving skills.
6. Research question(s), 1) Is the effects of an unstructured free play and
problem(s), or issue(s) mindfulness intervention on the wellbeing of
addressed students positive or negative?
2) Should all students have been included in the study,
therefore providing more just results?
3) Would the results of differed if students with
disabilities were included in the study?
7. Who are the - 42 children aged 4-6 years old (students in
participants, audience, kindergarten, two different classes, in Hong Kong).
and/or subjects? - Parents & administrators were heavily involved in
the planning stages (consent forms/communication).
- Inclusion criteria for if a student was chosen: 1) aged
between 3-7 years old, 2) typically developing with
no physical or developmental disabilities, 3) consent
form was signed and returned.
- Control group: data was collected in an indoor
assembly hall.
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Intervention group: data was collected in the indoor
activity area as well as the outdoor playground.
8. What forms of data (or - Observation
information) help the - Questionnaires for parents
author(s) answer their - Pre-tests & post tests
questions? - Pedometers
- Stadiometers
- Weight scales
- Psychometric scales
9. What themes emerge Reoccurring themes included:
about the original - The importance of children’s wellbeing (emotional,
questions, problems, or social, physical).
issues? - Reducing children’s mental health problems,
developmental, emotional and behavioural issues.
- The benefit of play for children.
10. What is important It is important to note that in all areas pertaining to the
and/or interesting in student’s well-being and mental health, the unstructured
general about these play and mindfulness intervention resulted in positive effects
results? for all students as their happiness levels increased. “Given
greater freedom in play choice, children showed more
disruptive behaviours during unstructured play than the
control group engaging in recess as usual” (Lee et al., pg. 1).
This is vital to be aware of as we need to make
improvements to the public school system here in NB in
order to assist our students with their overall well-being.
11. What connections can In connection to my action research project, this article is
be made to other quite useful as it highlights the importance of allowing
readings, classroom students to ‘let loose’ during school hours, in order for them
observations, your to remain dedicated and beneficial towards their academics.
project, or your future The article states that, giving students the opportunity to
as a teacher/action engage in mindful activities assists with their physical,
researcher? social and emotional well-being, therefore, contributing to
their learning. (Lee et al., 2020). Even though, the article
focused on students in kindergarten it pointed out the
detrimental effects that ‘play’ has on students of all ages. In
relation to becoming a new teacher soon, the article shows
how important, outside unstructured play time is for a
student’s development and in turn their behaviours.

Article 3: The effects of a mindfulness-based education program on pre- and early adolescents’
well-being and social and emotional competence
Elements
1. APA formatted citation Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Lawlor, M. S. (2010). The effects
of a mindfulness-based education program on pre-
and early adolescents’ well-being and social and
emotional competence. Mindfulness, 1(3), 137–
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-010-0011-8

2. Describe type of article Academic Research

3. Useful references Lawlor, M. S. (2007). Process evaluation of the mindfulness
included education program. A report commissioned by the
Hawn Foundation.

Napoli, M., Krech, P. R., & Holley, L. C. (2005).

Mindfulness training for elementary school students:
The Attention Academy. Journal of Applied School
Psychology, 21, 99–125.

Thompson, M., & Gauntlett-Gilbert, J. (2008). Mindfulness

with children and adolescents: effective clinical
application. Clinical Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 13, 395–407.

4. Definition of key terms 1) Mindfulness: Schonert-Reichl and Lawlor define

mindfulness as, “a state of consciousness that
incorporates self-awareness and attention with a core
characteristic of being open, receptive and non-
judgemental” (pg. 139).
2) Adolescents: transitional stage of physical and
psychological development that generally occurs
during the period from puberty to adulthood. Known
as the “teenage years” (Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor,
2010).
3) Prevention: the action of stopping something from
happening or arising/continuing (Schonert-Reichl &
Lawlor, 2010).
4) Optimism: the generalized expectancy that positive
outcomes are attainable (Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor,
pg. 139).
5) Social competence: consists of social, emotional,
cognitive and behavioural skills needed for
successful social adaptation (Schonert-Reichl &
Lawlor, 2010).

5. Summarize the text’s Thesis: The purpose of this article was to prove if the
thesis and essential Mindfulness Education (ME) program, positively correlates
points to pre and early adolescents’ student’s overall well-being, as
well as their social and emotional competence.

Essential points:
- Growing portion of adolescent aged students that
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
experience social, emotional and behaviour
problems.
- Mental Health issues are on the rise for these aged
students, 1/5 experience problems severe enough to
be referred/seek help from Mental Health services.
- Behaviour problems are a major issue in classrooms
because of this failure to meet the needs of the
students.
- Students social- emotional competence and well-
being can be positively correlated with the
implementation of a mindfulness program.
6. Research question(s), 1) Will the implementation of a mindfulness-based
problem(s), or issue(s) education program for pre and early adolescents’
addressed positively affect their well-being and social and
emotional competence?
2) What are the benefits of the Mindfulness Education
(ME) program?
3) How easy is it to implement this type of program
into your classroom?

7. Who are the Teachers: 12 teachers (12 different classes- 6 received the
participants, audience, ME program training, the other 6 were selected as wait-list
and/or subjects? controls and would receive the ME program training the
following school year).
Students: 246 students (4th-7th graders, ages range from 9-
13, 70 boys 69 girls)
ME program: 139 participants (70 boys & 69 girls).
Control group: 107 participants (57 boys & 50 girls).
- 12 elementary schools located in a large urban
school district in a Western Canadian city (British
Columbia).
- 57% of the participants identified English as their
first language, 23% identified their first language as
East Asian (Chinese, Korean), and the remaining
20% identified their first language as other (Spanish,
Russian, etc.).
- Participation was voluntary and both
parental/guardian consent and student consent were
required. Reward of a pizza party was guaranteed if
participants agreed to participate.
8. What forms of data (or - Forms
information) help the - Optimism subscale (Resiliency Inventory)
author(s) answer their - Questionnaires (self-description)
questions? - Pre-tests & post tests
- Self-concept subscale
- School self-concept
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Positive and negative affect schedule
- Teachers’ Rating Scale of Social Competence
9. What themes emerge - Benefits of mindfulness programs for this age of
about the original students
questions, problems, or - The prevalence of Mental Health Issues for students
issues? these ages
- Typical behaviour amongst students aged (9-13) and
what triggers it
10. What is important Important findings pertaining to this academic research
and/or interesting in indicate that adolescent students benefit greatly from the
general about these implementation of the ME program, as the results reported
results? increases in optimism. Additionally, I found it interesting
that the program seemed to benefit preadolescents more
than early adolescents. I would have thought otherwise,
which makes me think is this program suitable for the
intended age group that they surveyed?
11. What connections can One connection that can be made with my future as a
be made to other teacher is the discussion on the lack of Mental Health
readings, classroom services for these young people who are struggling. I plan to
observations, your work towards a masters in either guidance or resource,
project, or your future which would focus primarily on Mental Health and assisting
as a teacher/action students with Mental Health issues. This is something that I
researcher? admire as students need our help, they need a trusted adult
they can turn to for help, or to vent and get something off
their chest, they just want their voice to be heard and I
someday hope to be that adult. This primarily relates well
with incorporating mindfulness exercises into the classroom
to promote students social and emotional learning.

All of these articles pertained to the social- emotional learning of the students in the presence
of a mindfulness implementation, in several grade levels, receiving a wide range of data, which
correlated to the same results. Though there were varying degrees of the mindfulness program
that was implemented, they all touched on the same topic of students benefiting immensely from
the incorporation of mindfulness exercises. There is an importance placed on mindfulness
education and curriculum being the focal point of education, rather than the ‘traditional’
academics standpoint. One of the articles highlighted that mental health issues are on the rise for
students and that behaviour problems are a major matter in classrooms because of the failure to
meet the needs of students. Therefore, the school implemented a mindfulness education program,
which proved to positively support students social-emotional competence and overall well-being
(Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor, 2010). An additional article determined that unstructured free play
and mindfulness intervention positively affected the well-being of students as the happiness
levels of students increased, when they were given time outside to take part in unstructured play
and then the mindfulness intervention. The importance and positive effects of play for students
developed multiple skills, such as social interaction, communication, peer interaction, how to
function in the world and problem-solving skills (Lee et al., 2020). Lastly, the final article
brought attention to the correlation between students’ success in school with their overall mental
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
health and their well-being. It also accentuated mindfulness programs or exercises to promote
resiliency in students, as well as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship
skills and responsible decision making, which are all skills that are deemed successful in social-
emotional learning (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2015).

Description of the Research Context

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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

School Description:
This study will be conducted at Gretna Green school; a K-8 school located at 15 Gretna
Green Drive, Miramichi, NB, that offers both English and Intensive French options for students
at all grade levels. This school is home to roughly 315 students that share certain educational
classrooms/areas, such as the gymnasium, library, resource center, technology and science labs,
the cafeteria and the outdoor equipment, including, the walking trail.
The administration of the school is as follows:
Principle: Keith Comeau
Vice-Principle: Krista Bransfield
Administrative Assistant: Kara Clark
Librarian: Sharon Pais
Approximately 26 Teachers
11 Educational Assistants
2 Resource Staff
4 Custodians

Classroom Description:
For the configuration of this research, I will focus on my grade four class comprised of
18 students: 10 girls and 8 boys. Although the whole school is encouraged to participate in the
study, it is unrealistic for myself to be able to thoroughly observe, monitor and conduct the
testing for all 315 students. Therefore, the study will mainly be conducted in my classroom, as
well as the school’s community walking trail. On Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, the focus of
the study will be conducted on the walking trail (weather permitting- if it is too cold or raining,
the students will either switch the mindfulness exercise (sharing circle) or will do the walk in the
gym), which is located right behind the school, where students will walk for a half an hour in the
mornings. On Tuesday and Thursday, the students will participate in a sharing circle which will
take place in the classroom before the academics commence. As I am conducting this action
research to improve my classroom practice and students social and emotional learning, there is
no need to obtain informed consent.

Methods for Data Collection and Analysis

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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Obtaining Research Data & Analysis:
The suitable strategies that I plan on using for obtaining data that I need to respond to my
research question are as follows:
1) Before the mindfulness exercises are implemented into the classroom procedures, I will
need to obtain previous results and information in regard to each individual students prior
(typical) grades, as well as their attitudes, emotions and actions on an average day. This
will be done through meeting with the student’s previous classroom teacher in the
summer, before the school year starts and acquiring all the information needed. The data
collected for each individual student will then be placed in a chart that resembles this:

Student Grades Personality How they act in the

(attitude, emotions, classroom and
actions) school community
(what type of
student they are)
Sally Math: A Sally is a very Sally is very
English: A positive, happy, musically inclined
French: A respectful young and therefore, is
Science: A lady. She always involved in the
Art: A+ has a smile on her school community
Gym: A face and is always through drama. She
Music: A+ looking on the is a leader and is
Social Studies: A bright side of always giving back
things. She also is through volunteer
always helping and opportunities within
assisting other the community.
students with their
work.
Jimmy Math: B+ Jimmy is such a Jimmy comes from
English: B happy young boy, a rough home life,
French: A who always tries his as he is not fully
Science: B best, but struggles supported through
Art: A immensely with his educational
Gym: A staying focused and journey. He is not
Music: A completing his encouraged by his
Social Studies: B work. Once he loses guardians to
focus, he gets participate in
frustrated and extracurricular
behaviours start to activities. Jimmy
arise. He tends to has great potential;
get restless fast and he just needs to be
then gets physical given a chance!
by throwing
whatever is in his
reach.
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
2) I will need to research the most effective mindfulness exercises to implement into a grade
four classroom in order to promote the students social and emotional learning. This will
be done by reading academic research articles, through EBSCO, Google Scholar and
additional article related websites to gain ideas on the types of mindfulness exercises to
implement, which will assist me greatly during the plan of creation and implementation.
This will be done throughout the summer months.
3) I will also need to research ways to effectively measure students social-emotional
learning, such as what testing methods are most accurate, etc. This will be done by
reading academic research articles, through EBSCO, Google Scholar and additional
article related websites to gain ideas on how to measure the students social and emotional
learning, which will assist me during times of plan creation and implementation. This
will be done throughout the summer months.

Classroom Data Collection:

Once a starting point has been identified on where each student typically ranges (past results), I
will survey the students individually, in an interview style setting, in order to get a good
understanding about their perceptions, attitudes and behaviours in relation to their well-being.
1) Wellness Survey/Interview: this will be done through a wellness survey designed by the
Department of Education. I will conduct the surveys and interview in the classroom one
at a time, when the other students are at music, gym or during recess. The testing will be
done in the classroom as it is a safe, trusting environment for the students, therefore, they
will be more likely to give their most honest answers. Also, the surveys and interviews
need to be administered during the specified times mentioned above, as the classroom
needs to be quiet with little to no distractions in order to obtain the most accurate results.
This will take approximately 2 weeks to complete, or until all surveys/interviews are
conducted with all students, which will start at the beginning of the school year (first
week).
It is important to note that the ‘interview’ portion will be me asking/reading the questions of
the wellness survey out loud to the students and clarifying the question being asked to them. This
will ensure all students are at the same advantage.

2) Observation/notes/data collection: once the data is collected and compiled, the

implementation of the six-week mindfulness exercises will be incorporated into the
student’s daily routine. Monday, Wednesday and Friday students will be required to go
for a walk on the schools walking trail for half hour. Tuesday and Thursday, students will
participate each morning in a sharing circle. The days are subject to change due to
weather. Throughout this process, I will monitor students’ progress through how they
present themselves in class (actions, attitudes, behaviours, emotions), as well as their
work in the classroom. I will keep vigorous data collection during the six weeks, charting
all the information that was observed, as well as jotting down field notes to ensure that
proper records are maintained.
3) Survey: during the allotted six weeks, students will be given a questionnaire pertaining to
how they felt about the implementation of the mindfulness exercises, if they enjoy them,
and if they see a benefit to them, etc. These questionnaires will be given out at the
beginning (1st week), middle (3rd week), and end (6th week). The questions that are on the
survey include:
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
a) Do you enjoy the daily mindfulness exercises?
b) Do you feel better after participating in the daily mindfulness exercises?
c) Why do you like the daily mindfulness exercises? Or why do you not like the
exercises?
d) Can you think of other mindfulness exercises that you would enjoy/benefit
from more?
Students will have the option of answering “strongly agree,” “agree,” “somewhat agree,”
“somewhat disagree,” “disagree,” and “strongly disagree.” In addition, there is opportunity
for students to explain their answer or give suggestions for potential tweaks that could be
done to some questions pertaining to their social-emotional learning. This form of data
collection ensures that student opinion is heard which gives them a voice and ensures that
they know they matter. As well as allowing for changes to be implemented in the future.

4) Wellness Survey/Interview: at the end of the specified time (6 weeks), I will give the
students the same wellness survey, interview style, that they completed before the
implementation of the mindfulness exercises. The results will then be compared to those
results with the previous survey that was given before the implementation of the
mindfulness exercises.

By utilizing these strategies and reviewing students’ previous grades, typical behaviours,
actions and emotions, I will be able to tell if the methodologies I have chosen for this study were
appropriate and successful. However, it is important to note, that drastic changes could occur
from the results of the previous year to this year due to the ongoing pandemic and the negative
effects that Covid-19 has on the students and their physical and mental health.

Timetable:
The research, plan of action and implementation of this project will take place over the span
of five months total. This will include all of the rigorous planning, testing as well as the
assessing that was mentioned above. An outline of the schedule has been provided below,
however, keep in mind that this is as of July and any adjustments to the action research could
require an updated timeline.

Date Plan of Action

July o Meet with student’s previous teacher to obtain data (grades,
emotions, attitudes, actions, type of student)
o Create chart to keep track of all data collected
July-August o Research: the most effective mindfulness exercises to implement
into a grade four classroom
o Create a list
August o Research: ways to effectively measure students social-emotional
learning, such as what testing methods are most accurate
o Create a list
September (first Wellness survey/interview
2 weeks)
September- Implementation of mindfulness exercises*
October o Monday, Wednesday and Friday: students will be required to go for
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
(possibly a walk on the schools walking trail for half hour
November) o Tuesday and Thursday: students will participate each morning in a
(6 weeks total) sharing circle.
*The days are subject to change due to weather*
September- o Monitor students’ progress through how they present themselves in
October class (actions, attitudes, behaviours, emotions), as well as their
(possibly work in the classroom
November) o Keep vigorous data collection during the six weeks, charting all the
(6 weeks total) information that was observed, as well as jotting down field notes to
ensure that proper records are maintained
September (1st, o Questionnaire/survey:
3rd & 6th week of o Do you enjoy the daily mindfulness exercises?
implementation- o Do you feel better after participating in the daily mindfulness
administered on exercises?
the Friday) o Why do you like the daily mindfulness exercises? Or why do you
not like the exercises?
o Can you think of other mindfulness exercises that you would
enjoy/benefit from more?
October o Wellness survey/interview
(possibly o Compare results to the previous survey that was conducted
November)
(After the 6
weeks)
December o Project review:
(Christmas o Thoroughly assess the data that was collected to determine if there
break) was success in answering the research question
o Reflect on self as well as plan implementation
o Determine ways that action research could be improved for another
group (if exercises should be modified or changed completely, etc.)

Importance and Potential Significance of the Study: Who Will Care?

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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Students are by far the main benefiters from this area of research as they are receiving
proper care and effective skills to tend to their social-emotional needs. Implementing a
mindfulness exercise is giving students a tool that they can use in the future to cope and regulate
their feelings and emotions. This is crucial for students to be able to do in order to be able to be
deemed successful in society. This implementation also benefits teachers, school personnel and
parents/guardians alike as they are also being positively affected by this implementation as they
are the ones who are most likely to interact with these students and learn the strategies or utilize
them themselves. With this being said, they should notice a difference in the overall well-being
of the students, which will correlate to both their physical and mental health.
This type of research benefits the teacher greatly as students are more liable to gain focus
of their schoolwork and become more interested and engaged, as they have the energy to do so
from participating in the activities. This being said, students work ethic will rise and there will be
positive benefits associated with their knowledge and learning techniques. Also, because the
mindfulness exercises are used to regulate emotions, behaviours within the classroom will be
reduced greatly, which will maximize learning time and minimize disruptions.
The other teachers at Gretna Green should also immensely care about this research, as
they should take the positive results of the implementation and incorporate this type of
mindfulness exercise into their own classroom practice, in order to promote social and emotional
learning amongst all students throughout the school. In doing this, the school would greatly
promote a positive learning environment as a whole, where all students feel welcomed and
accepted and that they truly matter.
Incorporating a mindfulness exercise into the classroom within the school improves
student success as they are being shown the love and care that their hearts desire, which
coincides with effective learning.

Reflection
This action research proposal is of utmost significance because it has the ability and
potential to engage students in their learning by giving them the energy and required focus for
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
them to succeed throughout the day. Both teachers and students will benefit from this
implementation as students are learning important life skills and techniques that are useful not
only within the school environment but in their everyday lives as well as their future. These
include regulation of their emotions and feelings, as well as problem solving skills, self-
awareness and effective coping skills.
It is important to note some possible limitations that could be associated with this type of
research, such as student unwillingness to participate, students not taking it seriously,
questioning of success from parents/guardians, school administrators and fellow teachers. Also,
the planning and preparation time that the implementation process takes on both the students
(filling out questionnaires, surveys, etc.) and teachers (conducting the questionnaires/surveys,
research, charting, observation notes, etc.).
As time goes on, and the research in this area expands, it would be beneficial to get the
other teachers in the school to implement mindfulness exercises into their classroom. This is my
plan for the future to further research this area and see the effects in the whole school, as well as
the results in differing grades, therefore different ages of students.
This action research proposal has benefitted me greatly as a future educator, as I see the
beneficial value of conducting action research in a school setting, particularly in an area that is of
importance to me. Students mental and physical health is detrimental, and as educators we need
to be aware of this. In a school setting, students academics are not everything. This action
research has provided me with a clear understanding as to why students social-emotional
learning is vital in accordance with their learning and by incorporating mindfulness exercises for
just half hour a day we will promote these within the students. Therefore, contributing to their
overall well-being and success.
To conclude, in doing this action research project, I have gained an immense appreciation
for the tool as I see true benefit to utilizing and implementing them in your school, or even
better, your own classroom. By implementing an action research focus into your classroom you
gain valuable insight into the development of your students overall learning, individually, and
therefore, your class as a whole. This provides you with a better understanding of the students
before you and in turn, a better understanding of yourself as you must try and adapt to assist your
students in the best way you can. With this being said, as a teacher, action research is a great
experience to be a part of as you are in control and are able to assess the situation, come up with
a possible solution, implement it and then assess what you came up with. This is a wonderful
self-reflection tool that highlights your determination, compassion and perseverance as a teacher,
above all else, that you will go above and beyond for your students to meet their needs. This
allows for both personal growth as well as professional development to intertwine and to grow as
one during this process.
At the beginning of this action research assignment, as a pre-service teacher, I was
extremely overwhelmed and did not see how it was relevant to becoming a teacher. However,
now going through the motions and creating my own, I believe it is very much doable and is
pertinent to becoming the best possible teacher for my future students. I see true value in
implementing an action research project into my future classroom, after all, the primary focus is
to administer a plan of action and then to carry through the course of action, while keeping your
students interests and needs in mind.
References
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Mindfulness Exercises to promote Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Hristova, B. (2020, September 10). Students fear COVID-19, Canadians think pandemic will
hurt child education, reports say. Retrieved from Students fear COVID-19, Canadians
think pandemic will hurt child education, reports say | CBC News

Lee, R. L. T., Lane, S. J., Tang, A. C. Y., Leung, C., Louie, L. H. T., Browne, G., & Chan, S. W.
C. (2020). Effects of an Unstructured Free Play and Mindfulness Intervention on
Wellbeing in Kindergarten Students. International Journal of Environmental Research
and Public Health, 17(15). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155382

Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Lawlor, M. S. (2010). The effects of a mindfulness-based education

program on pre- and early adolescents’ well-being and social and emotional
competence. Mindfulness, 1(3), 137–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-010-0011-8

Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott, D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F.,
& Diamond, A. (2015). Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a
simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children:
a randomized controlled trial. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 52–66.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038454